CU-Boulder faculty expresses fear over lifting of campus gun ban

University officials say they must comply with Supreme Court ruling

Citing concerns for their safety, University of Colorado faculty members were vocal Tuesday in their opposition of the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year to overturn CU's campus gun ban

Chancellor Phil DiStefano, Provost Russell Moore, CU attorney John Sleeman and CU police Cmdr. Robert Axmacher were on hand at a town hall-style meeting Tuesday to try and address the concerns of faculty members, many of whom were deeply disturbed by the fact students could now carry weapons into their lecture halls.

"I don't want to be surrounded by someone who's armed," said Paul Levitt, an English professor at CU. Levitt said that part of teaching sometimes involves intense debate and disappointed students, and he didn't want the threat of armed students impacting the way he teaches his class.

"Some classes are taught aggressively; some are taught passively," he said. "My approach to teaching is to challenge the students, and they don't always take too kindly to that."

The state Supreme Court ruled in March that CU cannot ban concealed-carry permit holders from bringing guns onto campus.

One of the primary concerns from the faculty on Tuesday was that Colorado law protects the identify of people who have concealed-carry permits, making it impossible for professors to know which students may legally have a weapon in the classroom. Permit holders do not have to reveal if they have a permit unless asked by a law enforcement officer.

Several professors asked what they should do if they saw a weapon on a student but were unable to determine if it was permitted or not.

Axmacher said that a faculty member in that situation could call 911 and have police respond. But he warned that teachers need to be careful about how they handle those situations.

"There will be a different response if you call in and say, 'There's a student waving a gun around,' and, 'There is a student who may have a gun,'" he said.

In the latter case, Axmacher said officers would respond and determine if the student had a permit for the weapon. If the student did have a permit, officials said there is nothing they can do.

"We have to follow the law, whether we like it or not," DiStefano told the crowd.

In late August, Professor Jerry Peterson, chairman of the Boulder Faculty Assembly, told the Daily Camera that, under his own "personal policy," he plans to cancel class if he ever learns any of his students are carrying firearms, but DiStefano said that professors do not have that right.

DiStefano added that school officials would talk to student leaders and other campus groups about the gun law and, after the November elections, he could broker a discussion between state legislators and those at CU who want the law changed.

When asked by a faculty member if CU could simply keep the ban on guns, DiStefano replied, "We would get sued, and I think we would lose."

Most of the voices in the room were strongly opposed to the new gun policy, but CU sophomore Garett Kain became the lone supporter when he spoke up. Kain -- who said both his parents were law enforcement officers -- said he doesn't have a permit yet because he is not 21, but he plans to get one once he is old enough.

To counter the idea that people would be spooked by students carrying weapons, Kain pointed out that faculty members were unable to point out where Axmacher was carrying his concealed sidearm under his suit. But as he did this, a faculty member interjected, "We don't give (Axmacher) F's."

Levitt said he has been threatened before, so he said faculty members' concerns are legitimate.

"I've had my life threatened -- I don't want it to happen a second time," he said. "I've been through this, so we are not making it up."

DiStefano said he was glad to hear faculty members speak at the town hall meeting.

"It was a good opportunity to meet the faculty and staff and hear their concerns," he said. "I think our position is (that) a law has been passed, and we have to follow it."

Billionaires, entertainers and athletes alike announced their intentions to pursue the Los Angeles Clippers with varying degrees of seriousness Wednesday, proving the longtime losers will be quite a prize if the NBA is able to wrest control of the team away from Donald Sterling after his lifetime ban for racist remarks. Full Story

Louie, who (like Louis) is a New York comic and a divorced father of two daughters, knows struggle and angst and cloudy wonderment. He views life through eyes with a stricken look, dwelling in a state of comfortable dread. Full Story